gluten-free dairy-free apple rice pudding

 

Best served warm! Also good for breakfast, warmed, with extra soy milk, a sliced banana, and roasted unsalted mixed nuts. Maybe a drizzle of honey and non-dairy butter too.

You'll need: 

• 1 rice-cup cup of rice, washed
• 1 cup water
• 3 cups soy milk
• 1 apple, peeled and diced small
• cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, vanilla
• 3 tablespoons dairy-free butter or margarine
• 1/4 + 1/8 cup sugar
• pinch of salt

Do this: 

Stir it all up in a pot on the stove, simmer till softened, and serve! Watch the pot, though, that it doesn't boil over. Big mess. 

You want the mess in your tummy. 

the best most amazing gluten-free dairy-free appley apple cake

 

This is not a quick cake to make, but a worthwhile one. It comes by way of Gluten Free on a Shoestring, but here is my take...

You'll need: 

• 3 large apples (I used Japanese yellow apples), peeled and diced small
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, plus powdered ginger and cardamom
• 1 tablespoon fresh or bottled lemon juice
• 1 1/8 cups gluten-free flour (158 g) - I did a mix of rice and almond flours
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons dairy-free butter/margarine, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 2 eggs at room temp and beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• powdered sugar for topping

Do this: 

Oven 170 C / 350 F. Grease and paper an 8- or 9-inch cake pan. 

You'll need a lot of bowls, so get ready.

In one large bowl, mix the apples, spices, and lemon juice.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum.

In a third, large, bowl, use a hand mixer to mix the butter and sugar for about 4 minutes. 

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat till smooth.

Throw in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. It will be a bit thick.

Using a spatula, scrape 2/3 of the cake batter into the bowl with the apples and stir till combined.

Dump the apple-less 1/3 of the batter into the bottom of the cake tin and smooth over. 

Scrape the apple-d 2/3 of the batter onto the top of that and then smooth the whole thing as much as possible. 

Smooth move, dude.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes. 

Remove the foil and bake another 40 minutes or so, until a toothpick comes out clean and happy.

Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool in the pan about 15 minutes or so. Then cool on a wire rack out of the pan about another 15 minutes. 

I sprinkled/sparkled mine with powdered sugar, and I bet a little bit of cinnamon-ed vanilla ice cream would be great too.

P.S. I halved the sugar of the original recipe and it was great for us. Too great. Just too more-ish. I guess if you use really tart apples, you could go with the original 1 cup that was suggested. I dunno. You do you. It was plenty sweet for us. And we just generally and naturally add our own innate sweetness into everything we touch. 

easy summer cold gluten-free dairy-free soba noodle shredded tofu and spicy peanut salad

This recipe comes by way of Dhivya Subramanian and CBC, but of course, as per usual, I've Mamatouille'd it with what I have available here in Japan and what my food allergies allow. 

Enjoy, and dig in! 

For the tofu you'll need: 

• 400 g hard tofu, squeezed and patted dry
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch or katakuriko (potato starch)

For the dressing you'll need: 

• 3 tablespoons unsweetened peanut butter (I make my own)
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• optional lime zest
• 2 teaspoons sugar or honey
• 2 teaspoons sriracha
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 3-4 tablespoons warm water

For the salad you'll need:

• 4 bags of 130 g gluten-free ramen noodles (or soba)
• 2 cups shredded green or purple cabbage
• 1 sweet red pepper, chopped small
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 cup shelled edamame
• 4-5 green onions, chopped
• 1 bag of daikon salad (in Japan, this is daikon and carrots in fine matchsticks)
• a few stalks of nira (garlic chives), chopped
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
• fresh cilantro leaves and stems

Do this: 

Finely chop or shred your tofu and mix with the tofu ingredients. (The original recipe called for baking this, but our Japanese hard tofu is much softer than Western hard tofu and did not work for me. I might try doing this in the frying pan next time.)

Whisk the dressing ingredients together.

Cook the noodles, drain, and rinse in cold water.

Mix all together and top with cilantro.

Add extra sriracha if needed. 

very yummy beanie gluten-free dairy-free chocolate-chip cookies

 

This comes by way of Fit Green Mind on Instagram! 

You'll need: 

• 1 can/1 box (about 220 g) of white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup/75 g peanut butter
• 1/2 cup/100 g brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/3 cup/40 g flour (I used a gluten-free baking mix)
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder 
• pinch of salt
• dark dairy-free chocolate, chopped

Do this: 

Blend all the ingredients except the chocolate, then stir in the chopped chocolate. 

Bake on a cookie sheet/baking tray at 175 C/350 F for about 25 minutes (start checking after 20). 

If you can, wait till they cool down before chomping. 

easy refrigerator pickled beets (good for other veggies too)

 

I amalgamated various recipes and used my own noggin for this, so have at it! I had some brine left over that worked well with grated daikon, carrot, green onions, and sliced cucumber mixed together. 

You'll need: 

• 2 tall jam jars with lids
• empty tea bag with black peppercorns and crushed red pepper flakes to taste (or these can be loose in your jar)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 t. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard (American style)
• 2 cans beets, drained
• extra grated and sliced veg, if desired, for any leftover brine

Do this: 

Heat water, apple cider vinegar, salt, and sugar in a pan on the stove. Before it really boils, turn it off and let it cool a little bit. Pour over the beets and tea bag, and other veg if desired in a separate jar. 

Cool down, put the lids on, and put them in the fridge. 

Even by the next morning, these are awesome. 

gluten-free dairy-free flourless chocolate mousse cake

Chocolate mousse cake evolution:

1. I learned this baking paper trick from my mother-in-law: Grease your springform cake pan. Cut a piece of baking paper bigger than the pan. Trace the bottom of the pan on the baking paper, then cut a circle a few inches bigger around. Slice into the paper in strips, stopping each time at the circle of the size of the pan bottom. Goes easily into the already-greased pan and you can just layer the strips a bit over each other.

2. Bake the cake.

3. Decorate it for your newly-minted 18yo baby child. 

🍫🎂🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🥳

I got this from BBC Food.

You'll need:

• 250 g or 9 oz dark chocolate, chopped into smallish bits
• 125 g or 4.5 oz dairy-free butter/marg.
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 175 g or 6 oz caster sugar 
• Pinch of sea salt

Do this: 

Grab an 8-inch/20 cm round springform pan and grease it. Cut out baking paper to fit it--see explanation above.

Melt the chocolate and butter/marg together in a glass bowl over a simmering pan of water on the stove. 

Remove it from the heat and let it rest and cool for a few minutes.

While that's cooling, grab a mixing bowl and whip the 3 egg whites plus the pinch of salt till there are stiff peaks. 

In a different bowl, use a mixer and whisk the 3 egg yolks plus sugar together till glossy, about 2-3 minutes.

Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate mixture. 

Very gently fold the stiff egg whites into the chocolate/egg yolk mixture. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes. The middle might still be a bit wobbly, but that's good. Make sure the outside is set. 

Cool in the pan. 

My son wanted his cake decorated with After Eight chocolates, which are minty. 

Happy birthday! 

gluten-free dairy-free elderflower and lemon pudding cake

 

This is a cake I can really only make when I'm in the UK and have access to elderflower cordial, but I'm wondering if I can try it with umeshu, or plum wine in English, when we return to Japan in the summer. Anyhoo, I'm writing up the recipe now, which comes via the inimitable Nigella Lawson, so that I'll have easy access to it later if I want to branch out with the liquid flavors.

You'll need: 

• 175 g dairy-free butter 
• 150 g sugar
• 100 g rice flour or other gluten-free flour
• 75 g ground almonds
• 50 g plain dairy-free yogurt at room temp
• Pinch of salt
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 large eggs at room temp
• 1 large lemon, zest and juice separated
• 30 ml elderflower cordial
• 45 ml fresh lemon juice from the above large lemon
• 100 ml elderflower cordial

Do this: 

Grease a baking pan, about 1.5 L capacity.

Preheat your oven to 160 C or 350 F.

Add your butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, yogurt, salt, baking powder, eggs, and lemon zest to a food processor. As it's whizzing up, drizzle in the 30 ml elderflower cordial.

Bake that at 160 for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for 5 or 10 more. 

Make a drizzle with the lemon juice and 100 ml elderflower cordial. When the cake is done, take it out and poke it all about with a toothpick, then pour on the lemon juice/elderflower concoction. 

Scoop out and eat with a dollop of plain yogurt. 

It's deliciously tart and sweet and floral. Try it. 

gluten-free dairy-free sausage, white bean, and spinach soup

 

This soup comes by way of Joyful Healthy Eats, but I changed it slightly.

You'll need:

• 450 g sausage, chopped
• peeled and chopped potatoes
• peeled and chopped carrots (I used yellow carrots)
• spinach (I used frozen chopped spinach)
• 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 onion, chopped
• celery, chopped
• 1/2 head of garlic, minced
• thyme
• oregano
• 5 cups veggie broth
• 300 ml milk (I use soy)

Do this: 

Saute your veg in olive oil, then add the sausage and herbs. 

Dump in the veggie broth and beans. 

Cook till everything is soft. 

Near the end, add the milk and spinach. 

Then enjoy with mucho gusto. 

gluten-free dairy-free banana and black sesame pancakes

 

These are nutty and sweet and delicious. Make them pronto.

You'll need: 

• 2 bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups rice flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons katakuriko potato starch or cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup black sesame paste
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds, black or white
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons oil, plus more for frying
• 1.5 cups milk (I use soy)

Do this: 

Mix into a batter and fry on both sides till browned and toasty. In Japanese, they say "fox colored." 

gluten-free dairy-free mince pies

 

My husband used AI to do a mashup recipe for us using flour ingredients that I had on hand: almond and rice. 

Our sons and I made these delectable gluten-free and dairy-free mince pies during our New Year holiday this past January, and for the filling we used a jar of a British mincemeat that I bought online. 

For the crust, you'll need: 

• 2 cups rice flour, or 240 g
• 1 cup almond flour, or 100 g
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold dairy-free butter or margarine, cubed
• 2 large eggs, cold

Do this: 

Mix dry ingredients. 

Rub in the butter, using fingertips, until crumbly.

Add eggs in, but if it's too dry, add in 1 or 2 tablespoons of cold water if needed, 1 teaspoon at a time.

Chill it for 30 minutes.

Roll to about 3 mm thick, cut, fill with your jarred mincemeat, and put star lids on if desired. Patch cracks if needed. 

Bake at 180 C for about 18-22 minutes. 

Cool and then enjoy Christmas for New Year's. 

bento lunches

I just found this in my drafts from a few years ago. I made some pretty bentos!  

vegan gluten-free dairy-free savory nut roast

 

This is from BBC Good Food; they called it "perfect nut roast."

And it pretty near is.

You'll need: 

• 300 g mixed nuts (I tend to use almonds and walnuts)
• 1 veggie stock cube or sachet
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, also finely chopped
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 (or more!) cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons cashew butter (I make my own)
• 180 g cooked chestnuts, chopped
• 75 g dried cranberries
• 20 g fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 lemon, finely grated zest only
• 4 tablespoons vegan milk (I use soy)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• I also add in dried sage to make it taste Christmassy

For my own vegan gravy: 

• 4 cups water
• 3 sachets vegan bouillon ("chicken" or veg)
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley
• vegan butter
• splash of olive oil
• vegan milk
• katakuriko (potato starch) or cornstarch for thickening

For the gravy, do this:

Bring the water to a simmer and add the bouillon, salt, pepper, herbs, olive oil, and vegan butter. Add vegan milk to taste, then thicken with a starch and milk slurry. 

For the nut loaf, do this: 

In a food processor, blitz the nuts and bouillon till finely chopped but not paste. Mix well, then dump into your prepared loaf tin. 

Mash it down and smooth its feelings, I mean top.

Cover with foil and then bake it for 30 minutes. 

Then remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes. 

Let it rest for a few minutes, remove, and slice. 

Slosh with gravy. 

Preheat the oven to 200 C.

Oil a 900 g/2 lb loaf tin then line with baking paper.

In a large frying pan, cook the leek, celery, onion, and carrot in oil till soft. Add the garlic last. 

In a large mixing bowl, add the nut mixture, the veg mixture, the cashew butter, and the rest of the ingredients. 

chiiko's wonderful gluten-free and dairy-free salad dressing

This comes by way of our good friend Chiiko, and it's the only salad dressing one of our sons will eat. 

You'll need: 

• 3/4 cup olive oil (187 ml)
• 1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar (I used white)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey

Do this: 

Shake. 

Shake. 

Shake. 

death-row microwave potato chips

 

I've recently posted about a salsa recipe that I received from a pen pal on death row in the US, and my other pen pal wrote to me about how he makes potato chips in the microwave. I had no idea that this was even possible, or that the potato slices would crisp and brown.

It's pretty simple:

Slice a potato thinly and dry each piece as much as possible with paper towels. 

Microwave at 600 w power for 1 minute and 30 seconds at a time, turning the chips each cycle until they're brown and crispy. Sprinkle with a little salt and let cool slightly. 

gluten-free dairy-free colcannon croquettes

 

These are as easy as pie...I mean croquettes! 

You'll need: 

• Leftover colcannon (Irish-style mashed potatoes that include leeks and cabbage)
• Rice flour
• Beaten eggs
• Garlic powder
• Salt and peppper
• Oil
• Corn flour if you have it (or even gluten-free panko)

Do this: 

In a big bowl, mix the colcannon, rice flour, eggs, garlic powder, and salt and pepper together and shape into patties. Then dredge in corn flour and fry in oil.